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Good morning,

As you'll learn below, several lawmakers want to strip funding from state universities that push leftwing ideologies as part of their curriculum. A pre-budget debate One Click Survey seeks your thoughts on their approach.  

This is the Texas Minute for Wednesday, April 9, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Paxton Announces Challenge to Cornyn for Senate Seat

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has officially announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, challenging incumbent Senator John Cornyn in the upcoming 2026 Republican Primary. Brandon Waltens has the story.
      
• Cornyn has served as a U.S. Senator from Texas since his initial election in 2002. Prior to that, he served as the Attorney General of Texas for one term and as a member of the Supreme Court of Texas.
      
• Paxton was first elected to the Texas House in 2002, followed by a stint as a member of the Texas Senate before taking office as the state's 51st Attorney General.
        
• "It's definitely time for a change in Texas." – Ken Paxton

Lawmakers Move To Slash Funding for Universities Promoting DEI

• As legislators continue to crack down on leftwing propaganda in state institutions, several lawmakers have filed budget amendments aimed at cutting funding for state universities that support diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Will Biagini looks at what they are intending to do when the House begins deliberation on the state budget tomorrow.
      
• For example, State Rep. Shelly Luther (R-Sherman) will be offering an amendment to the budget aimed at striking appropriations and provisions regarding funding to Texas A&M. She is taking the action because the university has been offering a program pushing radical gender ideologies instead of biological realities. 
      
• A similar amendment, authored by State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington), takes the same approach to the University of Houston.
        
• Both of their amendments would direct the money to property tax relief.
     
• An amendment by State Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) would defund the presidents’ and chancellors’ offices of multiple universities in which the leadership has allowed degree programs to become inundated with both LGBTQ and DEI curricula.

EXPERTS: Media Carveout Won’t Save Texans From Speech-Chilling Lawsuits

• Adjustments to a measure proposed in the Texas Legislature that strips citizens’ protections against frivolous defamation lawsuits would still hurt Texans, according to some free speech advocates. Luca Cacciatore breaks down the story.
      
• Legislation pushed by the influential lobby group Texans for Lawsuit Reform and authored by State Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) was originally set to strip Texas’ protection against lawsuits designed to silence public participation. A new version would include exceptions for members of the “electronic or print media” but still cut into the protections for citizens.
     
• A study produced by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press found that individuals brought an estimated 53 percent of Texas Citizens Participation Act claims, businesses and organizations were responsible for about 37 percent, and media defendants accounted for only 10.5 percent.
      
• “TLR’s bill would take the ‘Citizens’ out of the Texas Citizens Participation Act,” said Tony McDonald, a Fort Worth-based lawyer specialized in First Amendment cases. “In an age where every citizen can be a journalist just by logging on and reporting about what is happening in their local communities, creating a special carveout for institutional media companies is a non-starter.”

Senators Move to Mandate Uniform Election Dates

• In an effort to eliminate voter confusion and increase electoral efficiency, members of the Texas Senate have passed legislation consolidating the state's elections. As Sydnie Henry reports, the measure keeps the primaries in March and runoffs in May, but it requires local elections and most special elections to be held in November alongside the general election.
     
• The legislation was authored by State Sen. Byran Hughes (R-Mineola). It was adopted by the Senate by a vote of 20-10, and now heads to the Texas House.
     
• “Elections are costly and they’re resource intensive, and since each election has a substantial fixed cost, the cost per vote increases significantly in a low turnout election,” explained Hughes.

RELATED ELECTION NEWS

• “No county in Texas does a worse job of conducting elections than Harris County.” – Greg Abbott
      
• Candidates who wish to have their names placed on the special election ballot must file their applications with the Texas nsecretary of state no later than September 3. Early voting will begin on Monday, October 20.

Navasota ISD Teacher Sentenced to 5 Years for Possessing Child Porn

• Daniel Byrd was a teacher at Navasota High School when he was arrested for sharing child sexual abuse material showing young boys being assaulted. As Erin Anderson reports, Byrd pleaded guilty in November 2024 and has now been sentenced to sixty months in federal prison.
      
• State records show Byrd’s teaching certificate is currently under review by the Texas Education Agency.

Today In History

On April 9, 1895, Howard E. Butt was born in Tennessee but his family moved to Kerrville, Texas, when he was young. His mother started a small grocery store, which he then took over after World War I and began opening locations around south Texas. In 1946, he changed the name to his own initials: "H-E-B."

Quote-Unquote

"I want the people of America to be able to work less for the government and more for themselves. I want them to have the rewards of their own industry. This is the chief meaning of freedom."

– Calvin Coolidge​

One Click Survey

When members of the Texas House take up the state's biennial budget tomorrow, multiple amendments will be offered that would defund the state's universities if they continue to allow leftwing indoctrination programs—like DEI—to operate.

Do you think it is appropriate to defund a university over its DEI program?

Once you’ve clicked an answer, reply to this email with any thoughts you’d like to share!